


Tectonic Shift

by LBibliophile



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ba Sing Se, Earthbender Lu Ten, Fake Character Death, Gen, Headcanon/outline format, Inspired By Tumblr, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LBibliophile/pseuds/LBibliophile
Summary: No-one looks at a Prince of the Fire Nation and thinks ‘hey, I wonder if he’s an earthbender’...until Lu Ten does.Apparently he takes after his mother's side of the family
Comments: 18
Kudos: 237





	1. Tectonic Shift

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a [tumblr post](https://lbibliophile-atla.tumblr.com/post/627223123572473856/we-never-hear-any-mention-of-lu-tens-mother) pointing out that, since nothing is known about his mother in canon, earthbender!Lu Ten is entirely plausible.
> 
> This is all just going to be rough headcanons, so if anyone feels inspired to turn it into a full fic, please do! Just tag me so I can read it too.

  * Lu Ten is commonly believed to be a non-bender 
    * his father might be the Dragon of the West, but his mother was a non-bender - from one of the newer colonies, wasn’t she?
    * their son must take after her side of the family
    * besides, no-one looks at a prince of the _Fire_ Nation and thinks ‘hey, I wonder if he’s an _earth_ bender’
    * ...this includes Lu Ten himself
  * Due to his lack of firebending, Lu Ten becomes proficient with metalweapons instead 
    * hence why he suggests it as an alternative for Zuko when his cousin is frustrated with his own lack of bending progress
  * He knows all the tactical theory - the common attacks and how to counter them, the preferred defences and how to get around them - but he’s never actually _seen_ earthbending 
    * until he gets to the Front, that is
  * Lu Ten quickly gains a reputation for being lucky against earthbenders 
    * he always seems to guess correctly which way to dodge to avoid flying rocks, when to move before the ground erupts from under him
    * there were a couple of notable examples when he was able to warn his unit about imminent ambush by tunnelling earthbenders
    * he plays it all off as a combination of luck and perception, but he can’t help but wonder...
  * He starts paying more attention to the earthbenders he fights, not just matching forms to effects, but the nuances of stance and gesture
  * Then he goes for a hike one day, _far_ away from anyone who might see, and tries some of the forms for himself
  * ...
  * ...well _fuck._
  * He is a prince of the Fire Nation… and an earthbender
  * He can’t keep it a secret 
    * now that he’s finally felt the perfect exhilaration of bending, he can’t just give it up again
    * and now that his chi has learned to move in the surrounding earth, he’s not sure he can keep it from reaching out anyway
    * it only takes one person to see something they shouldn’t, and tell someone they shouldn’t, and he won’t know that the charade has all fallen apart until it’s too late
  * He can’t tell his father - part of him is worried that Iroh will react badly, but part of him knows he won’t... and that’s worse 
    * everyone knows that victory in the siege is imminent, the moment that will make the General’s career
    * but the scandal of the _Dragon of the West_ having an _earthbender_ for a son would overshadow even such an achievement
    * he won’t put his father in a position where he has to make that choice
  * He can’t tell his grandfather - Azulon is the Fire Lord, and the good of the Nation will always come first 
    * while he could overlook Lu Ten being a non-bender, he won’t want to risk of having an earthbender so high in the line of succession
    * not when he has two sons and another two grandchildren all as proper _fire_ benders
    * he’s not sure just what actions his grandfather might take, but he’s not going to wait to find out
  * He can’t tell his _uncle -_ Lu Ten has no illusions about the man; he will see this as an opportunity 
    * while Azulon might be swayed to leniency, Ozai will do everything in his power to _permanently_ remove his nephew... and probably his brother while he’s at it
    * one way or another
  * But perhaps that is the answer 
    * Lu Ten is a prince of the Fire Nation
    * Lu Ten is an earthbender
    * these facts cannot coexist
  * He cannot change _what_ he is, but he can change _who_ he is 
    * it breaks his heart to do this to his father, but it must be done
  * Prince Lu Ten dies, and a nameless earthbender slips in through the broken walls of Ba Sing Se




	2. Aftershocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventures of earthbender!Lu Ten in Ba Sing Se

**Lu Ten Gets a** **Job**

His first job as a citizen of the Earth Kingdom is in a teashop. The pay isn’t great, and the customers are worse, but for now it is the sanctuary he needs. His father always says “if you’re stuck on a problem, step away from it, breathe, make some tea”; as the memory aches in his chest, he can only hope that an entire tea house will be enough to help him work out where to go next.

**Lu Ten Get a Reality Check**

When he decided to defect to the Earth Kingdom, he was rather more focused on what he was leaving than what he would find. If he had stopped to think, maybe it would have been less of a shock to discover that his change in status is actually more disconcerting than the change of country – although all that _green_ takes some getting used to. Because people are just _people_ , and war leaves casualties on all sides.

**Lu Ten Goes to School**

He gave up his home, his family, his identity, for his earthbending, so by Agni he is going to learn how to use it. As soon as he finds a decent excuse for why a grown adult needs beginner exercises…

**Lu Ten Ponders the Elements**

Turns out, learning earthbending is easier than he expected. Part of it is his familiarity with fighting earthbenders, and part of it is his soldier’s strength and coordination, but there is also the fact that he grew up surrounded by powerful benders. He’s discovering that the difference in element matters less than he thought… this feels significant.

**Lu Ten Makes Some Friends**

He is cautious as he builds his new life; he might be an earthbender, but he is also unmistakably Fire, from the same Nation as the army that besieged the city for months. Yet as he gets to know his neighbours, he finds it doesn’t matter. He is not the only person in the city with Fire blood, part or full; not the only one who chose instead to give his allegiance to Earth. Their reasons vary - loyalty or anger, love or fear, for nations or for individuals - yet they have all made the choice to call Ba Sing Se home, and will defend that with all they have.

 **Lu Ten Plays Pai** **Sho**

Lu Ten is happy in Ba Sing Se, but it doesn’t feel like enough. All his life he has served a cause greater than himself. Before, he had a duty to his Nation, but now the city are his people as well; he chafes at the idea of doing nothing while the world continues to tear itself apart. There might be no war in Ba Sing Se, but that doesn’t mean that the war is gone outside the city. So when a game of pai sho turns into an offer to foster balance, he eagerly grasps the chance. (He has heard rumours that the Dragon of the West has retired, grown soft, turning philosophical in his grief; he wonders if it is too much to hope that pain has led his father to the same understanding.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise I’ve taken the 'Lu Ten Makes Some Friends' headcanon from Embers by Vathara, but she included it in her worldbuilding because it makes sense.
> 
> This covers the first year or so after the Siege.  
> I'm pondering the next chapter which will focus more on Lu Ten's reaction to canon events. It includes a surprise family reunion in book two (Lu Ten is sent to a teashop with a message for the Grand Lotus), then the father-son duo conquering/freeing Ba Sing Se for the _right_ reasons during the comet.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Truth Comes to Light](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077162) by [ninjawrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjawrites/pseuds/ninjawrites)




End file.
